phew!

i'm glad linds got things started because i kept visiting this blank page and got stage fright each time. i'd wrack my brain for ways to start it, afraid that our pathetic attempt at updates (should this be the new name of our blog!?) would only deter sarah from coming back. but now that linds has gotten the ball rolling, there's no stopping it. here we go:

work's been a little rough thanks to two unflattering news stories to come out about suffolk in the last few weeks. first, the chronicle of higher ed published a story that named suffolk's president as the highest paid president in the country. its a bit more complicated than that (a lot of it is retirement money), but you can imagine the alums were not happy. this was closely followed by an article questioning the president's business relationships with members of the board of trustees- he has contracts with a few of them them, they were the ones who awarded him the hefty retirement package... so you can see where this is going: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11/26/trustees_fiscal_ties_roil_suffolk/?page=full
you can read the article if you want, but here are some of the reactions on boston.com:

As a Suffolk grad I was very impressed and proud of the progress that Suffolk has made in the years since I graduated. It is not the appearance of conflict of interest. It IS a conflict of interest, pure and simple. I would not want to be on the Development team right now. My guess is until this resolves itself, donations will dry up; as they should.

As a Suffolk Alum I am disgusted by what I am learning. I worked very hard to pay my own tuition with little or no financial aid. I am mailing back my request for a donation today with a note asking that David Sargent could contribute on my behalf. They'll NEVER get another dime from me...

(mind you, that mailing for a request for a donation? i sent those out. can't wait to get the replies...)

Recent grad of Suffolk. Very disgusted. Pledge here and now never to give another cent to this school.

there are many more, but you get the idea. should be a great time for fundraising!

to be honest, though, i haven't been that stressed. i'm just doing my job to the best of my ability, and if i get negative feedback, i certainly won't take it personally.

i think the last two weekends have helped keep things relaxed. after sarah left (*tear*) i went up to burlington, vermont with tom and hung out with kathryn (old boss) and her family. last time i was up there was in 2001 when christina and i managed to rent a car at some sketchy spot on harvard ave and, after multiple trips to fleet bank to consolidate funds and up our limits to make the necessary $1000 deposit needed for drivers under the age of 21, we were on our way!

i don't know why it took me so long to come back. it was as beautiful as i remembered it, and the food was definitely a highlight. i pretty much ate myself through burlington and on the trip back to boston, where we stopped to buy beer at magic hat, sampled maple syrup at the shelburne country store, and watched pottery being made at simon pearce in quechee. good company, too- kathryn, her son mike, and gf emily were fun hosts.

then last week was thanksgiving. a short summary (bc this post is getting long): tom and i cooked, which was great. i love cooking, i'd do it as a job if i could. awesome meal thanks to tom's turkey making skills, christina's green beans, and the fact that tom's dad and brother brought 2 desserts to add to my two pies- so we ended up with 4 diff desserts for 6 people. yum. the meal kicked off a weekend of movie-watching and laziness. it was great.

now i am back to work and trying to stay positive. i have a lot to be thankful for. yesterday i asked my work friend renita "how was your thanksgiving!" and when she looked back at me with tired eyes and said that it was just "OK" i naively asked "why!?". she is from india- and always said she was from bombay. so, when i heard about the attacks on mumbai, i was like "oh thats good, it isn't renita's hometown of bombay..." well, i'm a big fat idiot bc bombay changed its name to mumbai back in '96, as renita kindly explained as she told me she lost two friends over the weekend. she is hanging in there, but i feel terrible for her. and really, i should brush up on my geography. stat.

but this is why we have sarah, our goodwill ambassador, traveling the world and learning useful things like that mumbai and bombay are actually the same place... or that argentina lacks spice. i couldnt believe that! so sarah, keep sharing your stories, i love reading them.